


The Manly Quest for the Rose

by raintail_7



Series: Adventurers' Case Files [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Everyone OOC, Gen, Mentioned Gajeel Redfox, Mentioned Gildarts, Mentioned Lisanna, Mentioned Mirajane, My First AO3 Post, Treasure Hunter AU, alternative universe no magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-10 08:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20524829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raintail_7/pseuds/raintail_7
Summary: Tired of his big sister babying him, Elfman decides to show his Big Sister Mira just how much of a man he has become. Join Elfman on his adventure where he finds an unlikely ally while he searches for a great fairy tale treasure.





	The Manly Quest for the Rose

**Author's Note:**

> Ok 1.) I do not own Fairy Tail that was written and owned by Hiro Mashima. 
> 
> 2.) This story is just a small piece of a larger idea I thought about a couple years ago and there are a few things that I would like to point out.
> 
> 1.) This story while it can be a standalone story is not in order it was just the first idea that ended up complete.
> 
> 2.) There are two main groups that are not truly mentioned, one is the Zodiac, they are a mafia group each zodiac is a general and hold a command of certain sections. The second is the Raijin Corp, they are a jack of all trade kind of place and hire out their members for different jobs of any kind.
> 
> 3.) The characters are most likely very out of character, while I attempted to try and think how these characters would act in a different world I wondered if I was drifting from the original character design.
> 
> 4.) This is actually a side story to the main story idea, which was kinda an Unchartered, Indiana Jones kind of story staring Natsu, the Adventurers' Case Files was my idea of including the other members of the guild and give backstories to other characters who may appear in the main story.
> 
> 5.) I do not believe it was mentioned in this story specifically but Bickslow, in this story is the son of a professional thief and a hacker, I wanted Bickslow to still be as acrobatic as the cannon and this idea came to me from Leverage as Parker is extremely flexible and I liked the idea of the Parker Hardison relationship and just thinking of what kind of criminal mastermind the two could create

All his life Elfman was taken care of by his big sister Mirajane, even when he tried to help Mira always ended up coming to his rescue. Mira had to grow up fast since their parents died. The three of them, Mira, Elfman and, Lisanna, dodged foster care and child services for years before Mira was legal age. They had once spent a few months at a place called Fairy Tail and had stopped by often when they needed shelter. Mira had gotten in with the bad part of Magnolia and soon became a part of one of the minor gangs under the Zodiac, she had been a member for five years. Three years ago, she cleaned up her act after Lisanna had gotten into an accident that comatosed her and killed two other people. During the two years where Lisanna was in the hospital Mira did everything to clean up her act and even went as far as changing her personality. Mira got a job at Fairy Tail, they had a café that was run by the residents of Fairy Tail, where she worked as a waitress and started supporting her family that way.

It was a year after Lisanna got released from the hospital and everything finally got back into a normal routine that Elfman decided to do something dangerous and extremely stupid. Mira the over protective big sister and mother figure almost didn't have faith in Elfman's ability to take care of himself or his family, or at least that is what Elfman believed. So Elfman decided to go on an adventure, he needed to do something to prove to Mira that he wasn't that scared little boy he used to be. Elfman searched and searched for some way, something to prove that he had changed, and he found it in the form of a cursed rose. He knew his sisters like fairy tales and Mira seemed to favor Beauty and the Beast, since it almost mirrored her internal state of mind.

While researching Elfman found out that the rose actually existed and where it was located. He spent months planning and preparing for the journey, he studied the language and the climate of where he needed to go. As much as Elfman hated studying he knew he had to do it, to prove not just to his sisters how much he's grown but to himself as well. Once Elfman had everything he needed he set off to the airport and off on the first flight to Illa.

Illa was a remote, small and, snowy country, it was almost always covered in snow and some even called it a winter country. After Elfman landed in Illa he went and bought a map, not that he truly knew how to read it but he could try his best. After getting directions to a place that roughly translated to Rose Thorn Village, the closest place to the castle that held the cursed rose he was searching for, he was off. He was about a half hour into his trek to the village when he faintly heard screaming. Elfman was just on a ridge and there was a faint cover over his head, whether it was made natural or not he didn't know. After a few seconds the screams got louder as if the source got closer. He almost missed the pink blur that fell just in front of him, thankfully his quick reflexes reacted and he managed to catch the blur. Upon further inspection Elfman realized that he caught a person, and by a leg at that, and that person was the cause for the yelling. However, the yelling only lasted a few more seconds while the person noticed that they were no longer falling.

The person, now dangling upside down, looked up at Elfman and shown a grateful smile. "Thanks man, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't caught me. I'm Natsu by the way, Natsu Dragneel."

After getting over the slight shock of Natsu seeming to fall from the sky, Elfman pulled him onto the ridge next to him and slowly placed him down so that Natsu could readjust himself. "No problem." Elfman replied, "I'm Elfman, so why were you falling from the sky?"

Natsu was brushing the snow off that had gotten on him when he had been sat down when he answered. "I was thrown off by my partner for this job we were doing. That damn Redfox." 

"Job? What kind of job?"

"We were after this ancient treasure that was supposedly around here, I mean we found it but I never expected for Gajeel to turn on me."

'Ancient treasure? Is he talking about the rose? Am I too late?' Elfman thought in a panic, "Was this treasure a rose?" He had to know, he needed to know whether his goal was ripped from him before he even had a chance or not.

Natsu looked at the large silver haired man for a second before bursting out laughing. "A rose? No way that's too girly a treasure for me to hunt down, it was a dagger of some kind."

"What if you were doing it for a girl? Finding a rose for treasure that is?" Elfman inquired trying to save his dignity as a man, although the slight blush of embarrassment and anger wasn't helping much.

"What kind of rose is it?"

"One made of ruby and emerald, it was also the rose that inspired Beauty and the Beast."

"Yeah, I could maybe see myself going after it if it was for a girl I really cared about. Why are you asking about this rose anyways?"

"I was looking for it, for my big sister. Lately she has been over protective and I want to get it to show her that she doesn't need to worry about me too much."

Natsu gave Elfman a quick once over, he noticed that Elfman was prepared for a hike of some kind. Something else that Natsu noticed was that he was alone. "Are you planning on doing this alone?" Natsu questioned.

"That was the plan."

"That's stupid and really dangerous, you should really have a partner."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"You've heard of the always swim with a buddy thing, right? Well same goes for treasure hunting, well kinda, it's best to go with people you trust so that they can watch your back. Also, some places are really a two-man job."

"Huh, never really thought about it before, but I also don't have anyone to partner up with."

"I'll be your partner." Natsu declared with a smile, "You saved my life, it's the least I can do."

Natsu quickly turned around and walked off in the direction Elfman was heading not even waiting for Elfman to reply. All throughout the trek to the village Elfman tried to convince Natsu that he didn't need back up, however he eventually gave up fighting with Natsu. Once the duo got out of the cave like pass Natsu stepped aside to make a call. Elfman used that moment to check the map just to make sure that they didn't get turned around, he took his best guess at reading the map and assumed they were still on the right path. As Elfman was looking at the map he heard a faint click, only to turn around and see Natsu taking a picture.

"What are you doing?" Elfman asked.

"Taking a picture, what did it look like. Also, I called my pilot friend and told her to wait in Rose Thorn for us while we go find that treasure." Natsu responded.

"Ok, but can I ask why you took my picture?"

"My older brother is in the hospital so I like taking pictures of my adventure to show him."

"That's pretty sweet. Also, how did you know we were heading to Rose Thorn Village?"

"Shut up…" Natsu muttered with a slight blush, "Also, I didn't know we were going to Rose Thorn I just knew it was close by."

After that they decided to start up again on their hike to the village. For the next hour or so the two unlikely allies decided to get to know each other, well Elfman started asking questions. In that hour Elfman learned that Natsu only had his brother left, both his parents and best foster father died which lead Natsu and his brother, Zeref, to run away from the orphanage. Elfman also learned that Natsu found his own guardian and adventure partner on a job gone wrong. Natsu learned that Elfman was a middle child and only guy in the family, with both an older and younger sister. Elfman also told him that his little sister recently came out of a coma, and during the two years that she was in a coma his older sister had babied him and had become overprotective of him. Hench why he felt like he needed to go on this adventure. 

They had a few trip ups and Elfman almost fell once or twice, and Natsu, not paying attention almost walked off the cliff a few times only to be saved by Elfman grabbing his scarf. Upon reaching the town the duo decided to get something to eat before deciding their next move. While in the diner Natsu got a message from his pilot friend saying that she was going to join them to discuss the new terms of their agreement. They were about half way through ordering their meals when she walked in. She was wearing a white ushanka hat and a dark brown winter coat lined with white fur, and she didn't look very pleased with the duo at the table.

"Natsu Dragneel I thought I told you to wait for me!" She shrieked.

"But Evergreen, I was really hungry." Natsu whined pulling out his puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah so am I. I haven't eaten since before the flight in here and was going to get something when I got back, but I can't now since you're decided to stay and do whatever you're playing on doing. At least you can do is pay for my dinner." Evergreen stated as she sat down. "I'll take a glass of red wine please." She said to the waiter, who just jotted it down.

"I take it you will need more time then?" The waiter questioned.

"Yes, thank you." Elfman replied.

The waiter walked off to get the new diner's drink as well as to give them time to look over the menu again. Evergreen pulled one of the boys’ menus over so that she could find something to eat.

"Hey Ever, how'd you find us?" Natsu asked.

"First off who said you were allowed to call me 'Ever'? Secondly I just followed your path of destruction and your obnoxiously loud voice." Evergreen said peeking over her menu, "It was quite easy, really."

Natsu gave a small pout mixed with a small scowl "I wasn't being loud or destroying anything, how did you really find me."

"I had Bickslow place a GPS tracker on your phone in case of emergencies." Evergreen admitted.

"WHAT?!?!?" Natsu exclaimed, grabbing his phone he tried to find the GPS tracker Evergreen was talking about.

Evergreen scoffed, "You won't find it. Don't worry once the job is done he'll take it off. So, who's your friend 'cause I know it's not Gajeel."

"Oh, right sorry, this is Elfman. He found me after Gajeel tried to throw me off a cliff."

"Pleasure to meet you Elfman, I'm Evergreen. I'll be your pilot back to Fiore once this is all over."

"You're a pilot?" Elfman asked.

"Yeah, I just said that. Why are you asking me that?" Evergreen questioned.

"I just never meet a female pilot before." Elfman confessed.

"What's the suppose to mean? Do you think women can't be pilots or something, 'cause I'll have you know that I am the best in the business."

"No, no, no, I was just impressed, that's all."

A moment later the waiter came back, with Evergreen's drink, "Are we ready now?" he asked. He received a collective agreement, he turned to look at Elfman first. "What will you have sir?"

"I'll have the beast king steak." Elfman told the man.

"That comes with steamed broccoli and an extra side of your choosing"

"The broccoli is fine, and I'll take a baked potato."

"Sour cream and chives okay?"

"That's fine."

"What about you sir?" the waiter asked as he turned towards Natsu.  
"I would also like a beast king steak but instead of a side could I get another steak?" Natsu inquired.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm not quite sure that we can do that, but I'll see what we can do. What about the steamed broccoli, is that okay?"

"No broccoli."

Finally, the waiter turned to Evergreen, expectantly "And for you?"

"I'll have the rose chicken alfredo, please." Evergreen responded.

"Your meal should be out shortly." the waiter said as he went to place the order.

"Now what the hell is going on Natsu." Evergreen demanded as soon as the waiter was out of was shot.

"We’re getting lunch, I thought you knew that Ever." Natsu innocently replied.

"Cut the innocent crap and don't call me Ever, you haven't earned the right. I'm talking about the job, why did Gajeel throw you off the cliff?" Evergreen asked

"I don't really know, I mean we completed the job but the moment Gajeel got the dagger he was throwing me off a cliff.”

“And you didn’t do anything to provoke him did you.”

“Not that I know of.”

Evergreen let out a sigh and placed a hand on her forehead and rested her elbow on the table. “Natsu we needed that dagger, it’s the only reason we agreed to bring you here.”

“Hey ya win some ya lose some.” Natsu responded as he started sipping on his drink the waiter just brought.

The waiter poured Evergreen her drink and was requested to leave the bottle behind. “Natsu it’s not that simple, but don’t worry we’ll get the dagger back and you will still be charged for this new job you want help with.”

"What?!?" Natsu nearly yelled before Evergreen and Elfman reminded him that they were in public. "Why do I have to pay you even more?"

"My services were requested for one job I brought enough fuel to cover the one round trip as well as reserving the landing platform where my plane is being stored to extend my stay I will need to be paid more." Evergreen stated.

Elfman, who had never been on a treasure hunt before didn't understand why they are discussing this, "Couldn't we just fly commercial to go home?"

Evergreen and Natsu both looked at him as if he had gone crazy. "You can't bring artifacts on commercial flights that's illegal." Natsu stated. "Since Ever here is a pilot we don’t have to go through any security checks and don't have to worry about that."

"Ah right of course." Elfman said feeling extremely embarrassed.

Before the conversation could continue the waiter had returned with three steaming plates of food. A plate was placed in front of each member of the table. Once the waiter had distributed the food the group continued their conversation and worked out the plan.

Through the course of dinner it was decided that they would stay for a week, that should be enough time to properly stock up travel to the castle, explore the castle looking for the rose and any other treasures and make their way back down to the village. Evergreen informed Natsu and Elfman that they were paying for her room at whatever inn was in the little village, as well as the room her partner was going to rent when they got into town, and the boys were paying for all of her meals. Natsu begrudgingly agreed, only because he didn't know any other pilots or another way back to Fiore. Once Evergreen was finished with her dinner she left to contact her partner and figure out how to get the dagger back that Gajeel ran off with, besides her part of the discussion was finish and she wasn't needed anymore. Shortly after Evergreen left the waiter came back and Elfman paid the bill, Natsu lives mostly off the treasures he finds and it also seems like the fall off the cliff side made his wallet fall out.

"Okay let’s get ready to head up to this castle, but first we should take inventory and stock up on supplies for the next few days at the castle." Natsu says.

"Okay I guess. Let's see, I brought a pickaxe and some climbing rope, a compass, a shovel and some snow goggles." Elfman stated as he looked through his backpack.

Natsu just stared at the larger man. "Is that all you brought?"

"Yeah, I didn’t think I needed anything else."

"You're lucky you ran into me had you gone up to that castle alone you probably would have died or something." Natsu said as he ruffled his bangs and let out a sigh. "I think there should be a camping store around here, I remember seeing a location online for here for a store I frequent." 

Finding the camping supply store took about thirty minutes, as Natsu and Elfman were entering the store a couple were exiting the store. One was a tall man with a guitar case wearing a black ushanka, but unlike Evergreen's it was not tied up it the man had the flaps down and gave off a helmet feel. The girl was shorter, maybe a few inches shorter than Natsu himself, she had long raven hair and pink earmuffs on. Both were dressed as if they were about to go hiking in the snow. Natsu managed to catch a part of their conversation, something about having the same hat as someone and that someone would kill them when they found out, Natsu didn’t really care he was just used to people watching with Gildarts.

Inside Natsu started to go down the metal list he made on the way there. He decided that him and Elfman should start with the tent then work their way down from there. Elfman found a sturdy tent, nearby Natsu picked up a campfire starter kit and some campfire wood. Elfman insisted on getting both a lighter and matches, just in case they couldn't get the lighter working fast enough. They each found a sleeping bag for themselves, Natsu said they needed a couple of flashlights and they ended up getting enough batteries for a decade or so. Elfman picked up a couple pair of fingerless gloves, when Natsu asked him about them Elfman replied that he thought they might have needed something thinner to wear when they explore the castle, since it would be harder to go through the castle with their bulky winter mittens. Natsu had agreed that the fingerless gloves sounded like a good plan and grabbed a pair for himself as well. Once they had everything they headed for the check out, where Elfman paid for everything, and they were off on the trail to the castle.

The path to the castle was surprisingly easy to follow there was the old trail which was partly visible and a newer trail, as if people frequent this trail. They travel in silence for a while, Natsu made sure to stop and get a few pictures of the scenery. As the castle came into sight Natsu and Elfman started to notice skeletons, both animal and a few humans.

"Hey Natsu, do you think we should have brought weapons with us?" Elfman questioned.

"Naw, we should be fine. Most animals are just as afraid of us as we are of them. We should be fine." Natsu stated.

"Well I think we should make camp for the night it'll be getting dark soon." Elfman suggested.

"Yeah, your right, you get the tent and I'll start the fire. I'll also see what I can find for dinner."

Natsu had gotten the fire started pretty easily and while Elfman was putting the finishing touches on the tent, like laying out the sleeping bags and making sure that snow doesn't get in. Natsu was looking through their bags for the rations he found earlier at the store and started to cook something. By the time Elfman was finished setting up the tent Natsu had finished cooking dinner. They sat and ate together, shared more stories before heading back into the tent for the night. As they drifted off they faintly heard a creature howling in the distance.

Elfman woke up first and made breakfast soup with a small portion of their rations. Natsu started to stir at the smell of food and was up and about by the time Elfman was finished cooking. They sat and discussed the plan for the day while eating breakfast. Once they finished eating they packed up camp and made the final leg of the journey to the castle. As they got closer to the castle the skeletons increased, and new skeletons started to appear ones that were not quite human but also not animal.

"Hey Natsu, what do you make of those skeletons we keep passing?" Elfman asked.

"Hmmm, which ones?" Natsu inquired.

"The weird ones, you know the ones that don't look like normal human or normal animals?" Elfman explained.

"Oh those. I have never seen them before but it shouldn’t be anything to worry about."

"If you say so."

They reached the castle by mid-day, they decided to set up a camp near the entrance so they had somewhere set up to come back to after searching the castle each day. They started their search on the first floor. Natsu insisted that they collect anything that looked valuable, they had to pay Evergreen somehow when this was all over. The first floor contained a ballroom, a kitchen, and what looks to be a public bathroom, which led to a debate on whether castles had a public bathroom or if this castle was ahead of its time. In the kitchen they found silver and gold utensils and a few china sets that weren't completely destroyed. They found a passage down to the dungeon and decided to check that out before calling it a night.

They didn’t find anything in the dungeon but somewhere along their search they noticed that there were weapons laying all over the place and they started to collect all the shotguns and any ammo they could find. Natsu started collecting them because he was a bit childish on the inside and wanted to play with the big guns. Elfman started to collect them because shotguns are a man’s weapon and wanted a souvenir for himself of this journey. By the time they got finished exploring the dungeon it was Beginning to turn into night and they decided to set up camp in the dungeon, since it was in the basement and protected from the harsh icy mountain winds.

This routine continued for the next three days. On the higher floors they found jewelry and silverware made of gold. They shared stories and Natsu took a lot of pictures of the castle, himself, Elfman, and the view. On the last day after they packed up their gear and headed to the tower at the back of the castle that they had discovered the day before. They had decided to pack up before checking the tower since they were leaving after they finished exploring and it seemed easier to just leave once they were done. As they were heading to the tower Natsu had to readjust his bag, he didn’t even notice that his camera fell out of his bag.

The trip to the tower was average and boring. They may have noticed the sounds of pebbles rolling or other scurrying sounds all around them, but they brushed that off as rat or other small creatures. While the trip up the tower didn’t hold any treasures besides all the skeletons littering the floor. The rose was at the top of the tower glistering in the sun, timeless and just as beautiful as the stories say.

“Wow look at this Natsu, my sister is gonna love this.” Elfman said in awe.

“Yeah, she must be something special. That sister of yours.” Natsu replied.

“She is.” Elfman said back.

When Elfman grabbed the rose all hell broke out. Creatures appeared all around them. These creatures walked like humans but were covered in fur, their face had transformed into a leopard, some even had antlers. The boys had managed to get out the shotguns they had picked up, and stupidly loaded before. Natsu could have sworn he heard more gun fire outside of the tower but now wasn’t the time for that. They got to the main courtyard when they ran out of bullets.

“Dammit! I’m out, what about you Elfman?” Natsu questioned.

They were back to back trying to fend off the beasts trying to maul them to death.

“This is my last shot!” Elfman responded just as his gun finished firing.

“Well this doesn’t look promising.” Natsu commented.

“Ya think! And we were almost home free!” Elfman whined.

They were quickly surrounded by the creatures, they were trying to hold them off by hitting them with the butt of the gun. There was no way out.

“Well it was nice knowing you, Elfman.” Natsu stated.

“Been a pleasure, Natsu.” Elfman replied back.

They braced themselves for impending doom, they closed their eyes, not wanting to see their gruesome end. When the end didn’t come and all they heard was a hail of gunfire they dared to open their eyes. At some point, Natsu and Elfman had grabbed each other and were hugging the other for dear life.

“Are you two chickens gonna stand there hugging each other or are you gonna get the hell outta there!” a voice called from the castle wall.

“Get a move one we can’t hold them back for long!” a second voice called out.

Natsu and Elfman quickly untangle themselves and started to run towards the exit as the two strangers kept the beast hoard at bay. From what Natsu could tell there were two different gunners helping out, one kept the beast back, and sometimes killing some, with pistols and the other finished them off with a sniper rifle. By the time Natsu and Elfman made it outside the couple were setting up two snowmobiles for the trip back down the mountain.

“Come on!” the girl with long black hair called.

They were just past the field of snowman neither Natsu or Elfman remember being there before. For the time being the beast weren’t following them.

“Who are you?” Natsu asked.

“I’m Bickslow and that feisty sharpshooter over there is Cosplayer.” Bickslow answered.

“That doesn’t answer our questions, and Cosplayer isn’t a name.” Elfman interjected.

“We did a little digging around town and found out this place is a beast’s den, something here creates them. We spoke to Ever and she said this was a spur of the moment job and we figured you didn’t fully check the background of this place. She sent us here to make sure you made it back, and you don’t need to know her name.” Bickslow explained.

“Wow I didn’t know Ever cared so much about us.” Natsu said.

“She doesn’t you just put us back like a month worth of payment for these last two jobs you had her fly for. She wanted to make sure she got her money’s worth.” Bickslow explained.

“We need to go those things will be on us soon enough.” The girl said.

They managed to get back down the mountain the couple road back on one snowmobile and Natsu and Elfman used the other. They were glad the beasts didn’t follow them back down the mountain. The couple left them just outside of town while they went and returned the snowmobiles. They were taking inventory on what they found, Elfman wanted to make sure he still had the rose, and Natsu wanted to make sure he didn’t drop his shotgun. It was when the couple were walking back that Elfman found the rose. Elfman didn’t notice that his glove had a cut in it when he picked up the rose, the rose touched his bare skin he started to transform into one of the beasts.

“No!” the girl yelled.

They all rushed him, Bickslow and Natsu managed to get the rose away without it touching their skin. Bickslow and Cosplayer had prepared a container for the rose, one that will allow for viewing and once sealed it will never become unsealed. While the girl tried to calm Elfman down. However, he soon had her around the neck, they managed to get into a pocket in her backpack and pulled out an old looking dagger.

“I’m sorry for this. I really hopes this works.” She said before she swung the dagger at Elfman.

She hit around his right eye, which caused him to release her. Luckily the dagger’s magic was already starting to show effects. Elfman, who hadn’t fully transformed when back to normal. He also passed out from the de-transformation, during that time they had him looked over and patched up. His eye didn’t suffer permanent damage however he would have a scar just below his eye now. They rested for the night with the snowmobile rental guy, it was also an inn just most people preferred the inns in town.

Elfman woke up noon the next day. The girl they were traveling with was changing the band aids, that Elfman just noticed, wrapped around his head.

"What happened to me?" Elfman asked groggily

"You touched the rose, legend said one touch and it'll turn you into a beast. Actuality on some of the beast corpses recovered it was discovered that a bacteria of some weird strain effects different parts of the body causing it to regress and evolve differently. I guess a neighboring kingdom had found a way to counter if with the dagger. Anyone struck with the dagger will be cured of the bacteria the rose cause." the girl stated.

"Wow you really know your stuff." Elfman stated, impressed.

"Not really, Bickslow and I did some digging around before going after you. Like any normal person would." the girl replied coldly.

"Hey I did my research that’s how I found the place."

"Yeah okay, I guess you already knew about the beast then and we didn’t have to save your asses yesterday because you were already prepared for it."

"Everything was going fine until then. Why are you even here?"

"Bickslow said, Ever asked us to go make sure you two didn’t end up dead because you two looked incompetent, plus she knows Natsu and his ability to get into trouble, because if you die she doesn’t get paid."

"Hey, me and Natsu are totally competent, but I mean here like my room?"

"Oh, I was just changing your band aids, and I wanted to say I'm sorry for cutting you with the dagger. The doctors say your eye should be fine in a few days as long as you keep it covered and taken care of, but they believe the path the dagger took will leave a scar down part of your face."

"I don't understand why you would be sorry, it sounds like cutting me with the dagger saved my life."

"Yeah well, I'm still sorry I had to hurt you like that to save your life. Now I'm going to go get ready for the flight home and then I'll be down." the girl said as she left the room.

Elfman decided to get up and get dressed and pack up his gear before he decided to head downstairs. Natsu and Bickslow were downstairs watching the news, they had it set to Fiore new.

“In other news Jude Heartfilia is continuing with his search for his missing daughter, Lucy Heartfilia. Claiming that her Aunt has kidnapped her should anyone see her please call this hotline below.” The newscaster reported.

The screen showed a young girl with long blonde hair and chocolate colored eyes, just above the hotline number. Elfman was staring at the screen, he had a feeling like this Lucy person looked familiar. The news went on to talk more about Jude and his search for his missing daughter. When their fourth party member came down from her room.

“This garbage again? Bickslow why are you watching this trash again.” The girl asked.

“Sorry Cosplayer, it’s all that’s on. Whatever channel I put on it’s the same thing.” Bickslow replied.

“I wished they’d stop running it. It’s a waste of time and money.” The girl stated.

“How can you say that?! A father is missing his daughter of course he’s gonna try anything to find her.” Elfman yelled.

“How can you judge that? You just walked into a castle filled with monsters and you didn’t even know they were there! Or how about the rose that turns you into a beast with a single touch!” the girl retorted.

“What makes it right for you to judge what’s happening on the news? Or me?” Elfman snapped back.

“Oi! Cool it both of you. Cosplayer you get us something for breakfast and Elfman go see the innkeeper and make sure you are cleared for travel.” Bickslow said as he intervened in the fight.

After breakfast and Elfman's checkup they were good to go. Natsu had found both their shotguns so both boys were happy. The four of them divided the treasure based on the job and how much Natsu owed Evergreen. Bickslow made sure that the guns were all packed up and hidden within a guitar case. Elfman noticed the sniper rifle as it was being packed away.

“Oh yeah I wanted to thank you for sniping all those creatures yesterday.” Elfman said to Bickslow.

“I wouldn’t thank me. I’m a terrible shot. Cosplayer here is the sharpshooter in this crew.” Bickslow stated.

“Really?” Elfman asked.

“Want a demo to prove it?” Cosplayer retorted.

“Down girl. We're leaving and you're not getting the guns unless it’s life or death, remember?” Bickslow reminded.

“Yeah, yeah no guns until I’m 18, I remember.” She said as she left the room.

“She’s a minor?!” Elfman exclaimed.

“Shhh. Our secret.” Bickslow said with a wink. “Besides so is Natsu.”

They soon left after that, at some point Natsu convinced Elfman to play with their empty shotguns, because they were the great beast killers. They didn’t even notice that they were drawing everyone’s attention, or that there quartet became a duo. It wasn’t until police started to take notice of them that they realized they made a mistake and started to book it to the private hangar where they were to meet up with Evergreen. Bickslow and the girl were already there packing up the plane.

“Where the hell did you two disappear to?” Elfman asked.

“Yeah you just ditched us back there!” Natsu accused.

“Well you two started to act like morons so what do you expect?” Bickslow replied. “Now get your asses on this plane so Ever can take us home.”

Natsu and Elfman got comfortable on the plane and Evergreen got clearance to take off. When it was time to buckle in the girl came back, Elfman noticed that her brown eyes have suddenly become green. Elfman had been thinking on what was up with this mystery girl, it was halfway through the flight when it dawned on him.

“You’re Lucy Heartfilia, aren’t you?” Elfman yelled.

“If I was what are you gonna do about it?” she asked.

“Well we need to inform your father about where you are for starters.” Elfman said.

“I see.” Lucy grabbed one of Bickslow's guns and pointed it straight at Elfman. “Then I’ll just have to convince you to change your mind or kill you right here.”

“Woah easy there Cosplayer.” Bickslow said

“You heard him, he’s gonna turn me in to my father. I’m not going back to that hell Bickslow.” Lucy stated.

“You call living with your father hell?” Elfman asked.

“After my mom died when I was seven that man stopped caring about me. He only shown interest in these last few years, and that was only to figure out which of his business partner's sons I would make the best deal for.” Lucy explained.

“What are you talking about?”

“He’s trying to marry me off to whichever company would bring profit to ours. And what’s worse is I ran away from home two years ago and he’s only showing interest now that I’m marrying age. So, you still going to turn me in or do I have to kill you?”

“Are you sure your father would do that to you?”

“When I eight I was kidnapped by people who held a grudge against my father and when they called for ransom he told me to stop playing around. He hung up the phone and left me with those men. My aunt had our phones tapped per my mother’s dying request she found me and her and her crew saved me. When all was said and done, my father told me that he didn’t have time for such childish games for his attention. So, do I believe he’d use me for his own personal gain, hell yes I do.”

“We are not keeping her against her will if that’s what you are thinking we are just helping her hide until she is legal and can do as she wishes.” Bickslow added.

“Fine I won’t turn you guys in.” Elfman relented.

“Also hope you know her gun wasn’t loaded.” Bickslow said.

“Yeah, I’m not dumb enough to shoot a gun on a plane, that’d kill us all.” Lucy said.

The rest of the flight went peacefully. Natsu got his camera back. Apparently, Lucy found it and while Natsu and Elfman were climbing the tower Bickslow and Lucy were building snowmen and having snowball fights, they had the pictures to prove it. They had even taken a photo of Elfman and Natsu hugging while surrounded by beasts. Bickslow asked for the photos of himself and Lucy when Natsu developed them.

Mirajane was ecstatic to see her baby brother home again. Mira and Lisanna had a huge party for Elfman’s return. Mira placed the rose Elfman someplace everyone could see, she also loved the rose. At the party Elfman told his story, and while no-one but his family believed him he had a good time and was happy to be home. And if a few months later he was off to check out another fairy tale treasure with a certain pilot, that would be another story.


End file.
